House rewires

Full & partial house rewires

A rewire is the most disruptive electrical job there is, so the thing that matters most is planning. I walk the house with you first, agree where every socket, switch and light is going, and stage the work so you are never left without power or lighting at the end of a day.

Call 07734 157465 Request a quote

City & Guilds qualified No job too small Fully insured Based in Pudsey

When a house needs rewiring

Age alone does not decide it — condition does. The things that genuinely point to a rewire are:

Rubber, lead or fabric-sheathed cable. If the insulation cracks when you flex it, it is past saving. Common in houses not touched since the 1960s.
No earth on the lighting circuits. Very common in older Pudsey and Bradford stone terraces, and it rules out most modern metal light fittings.
An EICR with multiple C2 codes where the remedial cost is approaching the cost of doing it properly once.
A house being gutted anyway — if the floors are up and the plaster is off, rewiring then costs a fraction of doing it later.

Plenty of houses that feel "old" only need a consumer unit and a few circuits rather than a full rewire. I will tell you if that is the case — an EICR is the honest way to find out before committing to the bigger job.

Full or partial

A full rewire replaces every cable, accessory and the consumer unit. A partial rewire tackles the circuits that are actually failing — often the lighting, or the upstairs sockets — and keeps sound cable where it is. Partial is cheaper and far less disruptive, and it is the right answer more often than the trade generally admits.

How I work

First fix is the cabling: lifting floorboards, chasing walls, running the new circuits. Second fix is the accessories and testing. A plasterer follows on between the two, and I will show you exactly where the chases will run before I cut anything, so you know what to budget for making good.

You get the work staged so the kitchen and at least one lighting circuit are live every night. If you are living in the house through it, say so at the quote stage and I will plan around it.

Certification

A rewire is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations. You get a full Electrical Installation Certificate with every circuit's test results and a schedule of what is on each circuit.

Work like this is notifiable, which means it has to be registered with Building Control. I take care of that side for you: the building notice goes in to your council before I start, they inspect the work, and they issue the completion certificate to sit alongside your Electrical Installation Certificate. The council charges a fee for the inspection, and I will tell you exactly what it is when I quote, so it is in the price from the start rather than a surprise at the end.

Common questions

Can I live in the house during a rewire?

Usually yes. I stage the work so you have power and lighting every evening, and so only one area is out of action at a time. Tell me before I quote if anyone in the house works from home or needs power for medical equipment and I will plan around it.

How long does a rewire take?

A typical three-bedroom house is around a week to ten days for first and second fix, with plastering and decorating following on after. Bigger or occupied houses take longer, because the work is staged to keep you in power throughout.

Do you make good the plaster?

I fill every chase so the walls are ready for a plasterer to skim. At quote stage I will walk you through exactly how much making good the job will leave, so it is in your budget from the start rather than a surprise at the end.

Is a partial rewire a false economy?

Not if the remaining cable is genuinely sound — and I will show you the test results rather than ask you to take my word for it. It is a false economy when the old cable is on its way out, and I will say so plainly if that is what I find.

Want a price?

Tell me a bit about the job and I'll come and look. No charge for the visit, and a fixed price before anything starts.